


The Raven Heart

by shipping_it_all



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:58:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13570140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipping_it_all/pseuds/shipping_it_all
Summary: Their feelings for each other grew at a rapid pace. The electricity in between them growing like a weed. Every time they were around one another the usually kind Raelyn turned defensive and sour, and the usually loud-mouthed showy Kol turned stoic and blatantly rude. This transformation confused everyone who saw it. Little did they know what both of the teens minds were thinking of.





	The Raven Heart

       **T** he day Raelyn Ravenheart was born was one of celebration. The entire village gathered to feast and party as the young girl was passed from gentle arm to gentle arm. Everyone who held the small girl instantly fell in love; and really who wouldn't. She was the most beautiful baby that anyone had ever seen. The skin covering her growing bones was like porcelain, so soft one would think it made out of rose petals. Her eyes were like two emeralds plucked out of the earth, a trait the child had inherited from her mother, whose eyes were equal in beauty. Despite most of her features coming from her mother, there was no doubt of her origin, for she had the Ravenheart hair. Hair so black in the night it disappeared, even the small tuft of it on the child's head proudly showed what family she belonged to. It was a clear indication of whose child she was, who she belonged to. Which was good, for in their village it was easy for one to mix up whose child was whose. They were all so familiar it seemed that everyone simply shared their children.

      There was another girl that had recently been born in their village. Not two weeks prior a similar party had been thrown for the child of Esther and Micheal Mikaelson. That child had been named Rebekah. Now the two girls laid beside one another, on furs before a fire as their parents danced away the night. Their small bodies wrapped up in the same blanket and their hands mindlessly fiddling with each other. Until the two babies drifted off to the gentle tune played by a few of the village's musicians. Playing close to them were the other Mikaelson children, which in the absence of children of their own (up until Raelyn's birth) the Ravenhearts had come to think of their own. Esther and Micheal had been thrilled to hear of Angelina Ravenheart's pregnancy and were overjoyed that two of their children would grow up together. Mikael and Licus (Mr. Ravenheart) also talked about the possibility of, far in the future, Raelyn taking Elijah or Finn as her husband. Licus and Mikael had been childhood friends as well and were overjoyed to have the possibility of a family tie between them.Although Licus didn't consider that one of Mikael's younger boys might be a better fit for his daughter, Finn and Elijah were the oldest, that made them the best for her certainly. Often the two men would hang about their households discussing the future, whilst they did this their wives would be off in the kitchen. Doing far less innocent things.

      For you see Esther and Angelia were not merely the submissive housewives they were known for being, not much more but more. Both were witches, although not extremely powerful, they were still witches. With connections to the earth and the elements around them. So while their husbands were off hunting or skinning things they were cooking up protection charms and other mystical things. Nothing big that was for sure, at least not on Angelia's part. The magic Angelia used was simple stuff, that kept her and her loved ones healthy and happy. Esther often acted to only be doing the same, however, her portion of the craft was much darker. The things Esther planned... the would have given Angelia nightmares had she lived to see them pass. Angelia was determined to make sure that her daughter took up the craft as well, so she spent much time performing magic in front of her daughter. Simple little things, levitating items in front of her or telling her what animal her father was going to bring home before he even left for his hunt. As a child Raelyn never fully understood what her mother was, that it was something unique, it was not until she got older than she began to appreciate the craft.

      By the time Raelyn had reached the age of five she hardly knew that the Mikaelson's weren't her family. They were simply always there and the had treated her like a sibling since she was born, so she always thought of them that way. Elijah loved to teach her things. He would read and write with her, help her do the simple basic math that at the time he was still hardly grasping himself. He wrote stories with her and taught her how to play the flute. Elijah loved to hear her play and the two spent many evenings together. Sitting by the fire together, Raelyn would play her flute and Elijah would just smile at her. Licus and Mikael loved this as they had already decided that they were a certain match. Finn loved to make things with Raelyn. He would make her coats and pants and anything else he could get the materials for. He would help her make things too. He taught her to carve simple things with the knife her father had given her. The day Raelyn turned ten Finn had gifted Raelyn with her most prized possession, a hand carved wooden bow. He had even carved all sorts of patterns into it, it was the best gift Raelyn had ever received. Klaus loved to play with her. They would spend hours chasing each other through the forest. Their tickle matches were legendary around town and the fun never seemed to end. Along with this play fighting, Raelyn learned some real fighting technique from him, this did not happen until she was older, but it was a good thing it did. Rebekah loved to play pranks with Raelyn. Often the two girls could be found scheming about their next prank. Often these pranks ended in the embarrassment of one of the Mikaelson brothers. Such as the one time they coated all of the Mikaelson brothers underclothing in the itching plant, they had uncurable itches for days afterward. Mikeal and Licus loved to go hunting with Raelyn. Because although she was a girl, to them there was nothing she couldn't do. They were patient with her and never let her try to track anything more than a rabbit. Esther and Angelia loved to teach the little girl magic. Not often, and in secret, but they still did it. Although Raelyn didn't take a whole lot of interest in it, she still did it. And had some fun with it too.

      Then there was Kol Mikaelson. Kol decided from the moment Raelyn was born, when he was only one and a half, that he didn't like Raelyn. That she would remain to him someone he would always hate. She was _too_ nice, _too_ innocent, _too_ tuff, and just _too_ perfect. Even though everyone knew she had faults, in his mind she seemed perfect and he hated it. So he decided he wasn't going to bother with her, that unlike his siblings he wouldn't make an effort to adopt her into their family circle. And no matter how much the poor little girl tried, Kol Mikaelson just didn't like her. She did everything she could. She brought him flowers and asked him to play with her about five times a day, but every time he would burn the flowers and tell her to go away. Once she even pinned him down and said she wouldn't let him up until he played with her, he'd thrown her off and she had ended up hitting a tree. He'd gotten in trouble for that. His siblings thought he was just being a jealous brat, and for the most part, he was. He was jealous of all the attention that Raelyn received, which in his mind was far too much for one girl.

      But then the years started to affect both Kol and Raelyn.

      Raelyn changed in ways she hadn't comprehended as a little girl. Her chest and hips grew, to a size that was only slightly smaller than her mothers and was, at times, quite inconvenient. She couldn't fit into all the small places she used to and had to wear a supportive band around her chest to keep it from bouncing around as she ran. Other developments made her wish she could go back to simple childhood. For example, her monthly bleeding had hit. That sucked, it was a time of the month she dreaded as it took her away from her hunting and fun for at least five days. Five days that she often spent inside studying with Elijah.And although she enjoyed the private quiet time with Elijah, she would prefer not to be in a constant stabbing like pain during that time. As she grew up she was expected to stop wearing pants, stop hunting, and stop playing sword games with the boys. They wanted her to learn to cook and clean and other womanly stuff. She would laugh and tell anyone who told her that she could do both. And she did.

      Kol changed to. He grew taller, wider, stronger. His face became more manly and he started to look more like a man too. His feeling of hostility towards Raelyn stayed, though, but for different reasons than why they had previously surfaced. He didn't like the way she made him feel. How when he saw her his heart skipped a beat. Or how when she needed something all he wanted was to get it for her. Or how whenever she went out to hunt with someone he found himself wanting to go with her, just to make sure she didn't get hurt. How when she passed him he wanted to reach out to touch her. How, late at night, when he was alone, she was the only thought that plagued his mind.

       Their feelings for each other grew at a rapid pace. The electricity in between them growing like a weed. Every time they were around one another the usually kind Raelyn turned defensive and sour, and the usually loud-mouthed showy Kol turned stoic and blatantly rude. This transformation confused everyone who saw it. Little did they know what both of the teens' minds were thinking of.

⚜︎

       **R** aelyn was out on a hunt, the first one by herself. She would like to imagine that her family was sitting at home proud of what she was doing but she knew that wasn't true, for she had snuck out. Raelyn was smart, she knew that nobody would ever trust her enough to let her hunt by herself. She was 'a girl' and 'girls' didn't go out to hunt by themselves. Raelyn called bullshit on that, or at least she had in her head before sneaking out of the house with her bow. The very same bow that Finn had gifted to her, it was perhaps a little small for her now, but she couldn't take her new one. Licus would notice its absence, then she'd be caught before she could attain victory. She needed time to catch something big, bring home a take so large that her parents wouldn't dare tell her not to hunt.

      Little did she know that in the same woods Kol Mikaelson stalked prey of his own. A large buck that he knew his family would appreciate. It would feed the lot of them for at least a week, it was large and Esther knew how to make less seem like more. Although he wasn't extremely fond of hunting (it bored him, the prey was too easy to kill, he wanted something more intelligent to hunt) he knew that one day he would have to do it to feed his family. His wife would need the meat to cook with, to feed to their children. At the thought of the word wife, a clear image came to mind. Of him coming home to a slender girl, with dark hair like a ravens wing and kind eyes. Eyes he would recognize anywhere, eyes like emeralds. Quickly he pushed those thoughts from his mind. He didn't need to be thinking about  _her_  right now. No, he didn't need to think of her ever, an annoyed look came on his face.

      What he didn't know was that Raelyn had got to tracking the same buck. She found it first, at least she swore she did. It grazed peacefully in a field full of flowers. The same flowers that she used to pick for Kol. At the thought of him, all sorts of feelings stirred up inside of her. All of which she merely pushed back down, those feeling were for another day, another time. That's what she always told herself.  _I'll face those feeling later, for now, I have to do something else._ The strategy had been working pretty well for the past two years, so she didn't plan on giving up on it. If only they'd both fessed up sooner to their feelings, it could have avoided a lot.

      Raelyn lined up on top of the hill to shoot it. At nearly the same time Kol was readying his bow at the bottom of the hill. Had both of them moved merely a few paces over they would have seen each other, however, in their current position they were far from seeing each other. Nearly simultaneously both arrows flew piercing the heart of the magnificent beast before he could catch wind of the scent of human. The hunters both ran towards their kill, Kol paused near the bottom of the hill as he saw a head of raven hair approach the beast first. Blood pumping through their veins at irregular speeds the met eyes, brown clashing harshly against green. They paced towards one another meeting in the middle of the hill. Raelyn stood up from Kol leaving her almost eye to eye with him. He was nowhere near done growing height wise at only five ten, but neither was she at five three. Both would grow yet in many ways, not just physical.

      "That was my buck Mikaelson! What are you doing out here?" Raelyn lectured dropping her bow beside her, it hit the grass with hardly any sound. Anger coursed through her. This was her first hunt alone and  _Kol_  was messing it up. Of all the people that could have happened to be tracking the same buck, why him? It always seemed to be him. She was supposed to drag home this beast alone, t impress her village and gain some credibility. Although looking at the beast she realized that she probably didn't have the strength to drag it home anyway.

      "I should be asking you the same thing  _girl_ , you're not supposed to be hunting at all much less alone," Kol shouted back in anger electing a scream from Raelyn as she tackled him. It was a stupid thing to do because the two of them quickly started rolling down the hill like acorns. Limbs were tangled with one another and the two bumped together like magnets. Still, he should have known better than to insult her in such a way. Especially on a day like this when she was trying to prove that she was so much more than just a girl. Besides Raelyn knew that Kol wasn't supposed to be out there alone either, but that was because of the wolves they had recently discovered inhabited the area.

      When they finally stopped rolling Raelyn was resting atop Kol and one of his arms was wrapped around her knee. It was an extremely awkward position. Especially since at least one of them had imagined the both of them in such a position before, but they'd never admit that. The awkwardness was not aided by the fact that Raelyn had hit a rock with her shoulder and was now bleeding from it. Not a whole lot of blood, but enough to be visible to the eye at a glance. The two met eyes and immediately started to scramble apart. But it was too late, they had stayed in one another's embrace too long. They knew what it was like now, to be in the arms of the other, and it was a feeling they wouldn't soon forget. Not for many years.

      "You're bleeding," Kol said struggling to keep his concern from his voice because that was what he was feeling. Staring at the girl staring not a meter away from him all he could feel was a deep concern for her well being. Looking down Raelyn realized what had happened to cause the burst of pain there. Quickly she reached her hand up and covered it with her hand. It wasn't a huge cut, her mother could probably heal it. If she knew what herb to use she could heal it too, however, Raelyn hated studying herbs, it was boring to her. The magic she liked to research was much more active. What she didn't know what that Kol was already on it, he was way ahead of her. Looking around for a moment he found the herb he needed, ripped it out of the ground, and stalked over to her with it, jaw clenched.

      "What are you-" Raelyn began to ask backing away. Unsure of what he planned, what he was doing. And very anxious about touching him again.

      "Shut up Raelyn or I might start to regret this," Kol said not wanting to have to talk to her during the process, it might disturb him. Pulling down the shoulder of her shirt gently he pressed the herb to the small wound. Although previously not understanding Raelyn nodded, it made sense now. He was just healing her, she let out a small sigh. Under his breath, he muttered a few words, almost as though he were talking to himself.  Raelyn had to lean against a tree as he completed the spell, the magic washing over her feeling strange. What neither knew was that this connected them, in a way that went beyond the physical. Kol's soul, where he derived his magic from, would from now on always recognize Raelyn's, something that would come in handy later. It didn't take long for Kol to heal the wound. The moment he did he ripped his hands off of her (as though her skin was some sort of poison to him) and pulled her now ripped shirt back over her smooth shoulder. Raelyn went to say 'thank you' when she realized, she didn't want to talk to Kol either. She didn't want to do anything but place her lips on his. It wasn't a new urge, but like all the others she pressed it down. With a note of finality to his voice he told her. "Let's drag this buck back home'"

      Raelyn barely nodded.

⚜︎

       **H** ardly two weeks later the two met in private again, although the circumstances were less than preferable and it was nothing more than an accident. Or was it an accident? Was anything that occurred between the two of them an accident? Or was it the working of some higher power, was something out there commanding these things to happen to them. They would certainly never know. Nearby their village was a small lake, where many of the civilians went to bath and swim. It was a commonplace for children to go to play and Raelyn always loved it. It wasn't huge, not more than twenty meters across and thirty meters wide, and at its center no more than six meters deep. These dimensions, to an experienced and talented swimmer such as Raelyn, were pathetically small, and she wished daily to find someplace bigger to swim. There was only so much lake to explore. And it was a rather boring lake at that, hardly any fish swam in it, even leaches were scarce. Although that might have been due to the fact that as children her and the Mikealson's had scowered the lake until they thought they'd found every leach in the lake. Then dug a hole and threw them in, to her knowledge all the leeches had perished that day in the sand, but you never know. Most days Raelyn went down with the Mikaelsons to hang out there. They could spend hours under the sun, swimming, or rolling around in the sand. Elijah, although now her skills in the water were at least on par with his, still enjoyed giving Raelyn swimming lessons. It was always a great time at the lake. This was one of the few days she went down alone. Or at least she thought.

      On top of a rock, her favorite place to jump into the water from, she slowly stripped into just her underthings. When swimming with the Mikealson's she would wear a pair of pants and a shirt, but as she was alone she felt no reason to hold back. It wasn't like a leech was going to get her. Her underthings consisted of a what seemed to be a short pair of pants and a strap of material kept around her chest. As she wasn't completely comfortable in just her band of material she kept on top of it a loose shirt. Looking over the edge of the rock and into the water, she backed up from the edge of the rock. A small smile spread across her face before she split out in a run. Her feet left the rock and she straightened her body out to dive perfectly into the water.

      The water enveloped her like an old friend. Hugging to her and beckoning her to dive deeper and deeper. It was a familiar urge at this point, and never once had she resisted it. With her eyes wide open she moved deeper into the dark water. Knowing full well that she could hold her breath for quite some time by now. As her hands met the soft dirt of the lake bottom she started to root around for treasures. This was how she found a lot of cool stuff. Weird shaped rocks or rocks with funny patterns were a common find, rarer were small bones from dead fish, and once she even caught a minnow. She'd been too proud at the time to admit it wasn't large enough to eat and had fried it over the fire that night. Whenever someone would ask her how it tasted she would say it was wonderful, but she could hardly eat one bite. It had tasted horrible. Raelyn's mind was drawn back to the present as she felt with her fingers something cold. Soon her hands grasped it hard and she kicked upwards. While treading the water she observed the item. It was a smooth stone worn into the shape of a heart by water. Smiling she swam towards shore, her fingers gripping the stone tightly as she swam. She placed it down on the soft sand and ran back into the water. She found many other cool things in the water, mostly shells and strangely shaped rocks. But none of them were as beautiful as the stone she had found on that first dive. Not even a snails old shell that was split perfectly in two, nothing, to her, seemed as beautiful as that original heart.

      This particular dive she was struggling to find something worthy of keeping. All her fingers seemed to stumble upon were unworthy, dull pebbles. She searched seemingly everywhere. In her mind, she had already scanned the entire bottom of the lake. The cold of the water starting to pierce her bones, it felt as though the warmth had simply been sucked straight out of her. Her hands fumbled around on the lake floor and she realized too late that she was running out of breath. On impulse (and not so smartly honestly) she opened her mouth and the lake poured in. Her vision started to fade and soon all went black, the world disappeared. 

      Her mind was left to its own devices. To find something decent of entertaining her in her very last moments. The only vision is could conjure up was that of a regular evening at the Mikaelson house. Mikael, Licus, Esther, and Licus would be gathered about the fire, talking in hushed tones about the villages latest gossip and the wolves tormenting them. Finn would be bouncing between the children's games and the adults' circle, being in that awkward age in between. Rebekah would probably be playing the mediator in between some fight. Klaus would be starting some fight, probably with Kol. Meanwhile, Raelyn would be getting a piggyback ride from Elijah to survey all of the drama from a higher vantage point. It was a relaxing image, and in the water Raelyn's body relaxed.

      Next, she knew a voice was coursing through her ears and skin was gripping her skin.

      "Oh god please no, don't be dead, please don't be dead Raelyn." The voice sounded more like a pleading whisper than anything else, the mouth that spoke the words hovered close to her ear. Whispering in it a little more sensually than the situation usually called for. Arms were holding Raelyn's upper body up and only her feet touched the water and occasionally the water lapped up her leg. Her head wobbled against a strong chest and her dark locks fell onto the sand. Suddenly Raelyn started to spit up water on herself and her lungs slowly got the oxygen that they craved. She sucked in the gaseous chemical greedily, all other thoughts falling away. That was until her eyes met those of a certain brunette.

      Immediately he pulled her closer, seemingly more as a reflex than anything else. Raelyn's head was cradled effectively under his chin and both his arms held her close to his chest. Raelyn was shocked, really shocked, that he of all people had come to her aid. If someone were to save her she would think it would be Klaus, he was always in the right place at the right time it seemed. For a moment she just stayed there, unable to move other than to shiver, for the cold had not left her yet. Her mind spinning from being so close to him. Similar to her, his mind was merely a jumble of fragments of thoughts and emotions. Mostly he was glad she was alive. He had come down to the lake to swim (alone for once) and saw her pile of stuff. He knew she liked to dive for treasure, when he saw her body floating out there he acted on pure instinct and had swum to get her. He had been so worried, so concerned for her instantly. The thought of her death was just too much for him to take, he had just been starting to fess up to his feelings. At least to himself at least. He couldn't lose her.

      The moment he realized what he was doing, and how little she was wearing, he backed away from her embarrassed. She merely stared up at him with wide eyes. Shivering she stood and looked back up at the rock where she had taken off her clothes. Slowly she began to walk in that direction, not thinking that communication was necessary. They hadn't talked for the past two weeks so why should that change now that he had saved her life. Kol placed a hand on her shoulder and ran past her to get them himself. His sudden chivalry caught her off guard. Brushing it off she walked over to her pile of treasures to find the one thing she actually wanted from the pile. As she searched around she realized it was gone. The heart shaped rock was gone.

⚜︎

       **I** t was one of the worst thunder storms that they had ever seen. Usually, storms didn't last long and were not so violent as this one. The lightning seemed to be right above them and the next day they would find more than a few trees burnt to a crisp. It struck dangerously close to them, and nearly even hit the white oak in their town. Good thing it didn't. The claps of thunder it made were loud and disturbing, shaking the entire village. The clouds were dark and ominous, covering the entire sky. If one were to dare go outside, which one would have to be absolutely crazy to do, they would hardly be able to see through such rain, and would not be able to go very far. No farther than fifteen meters or so.

     And there was one girl in particular who was not at all fond of such storms. Raelyn curled up in furs, shaking before her hardly tamed fire that she was possibly getting a bit to close to. She couldn't be sure what it was that made storms so scar to her. Perhaps it was the noise, perhaps the fact that it seemed all hope was lost in a storm. Everyone always seemed to give up on doing anything during a storm. When storms usually occurred, Raelyn would go to sleep with her parents in their bed. She would curl up between them like she had as a child and both of them would embrace. On the nights that they spent over at the Mikaelson's if there was a storm she often slept with Rebekah as neither enjoyed storms. Wrapping the furs she had around herself so tightly they were practically killing her Raelyn wished her parents had been home with her, but she was alone. Fear radiated from her every pore and she couldn't stop the uncontrollable shaking of her frightened limbs. She would have been crying only she had already cried all the tears she had, there were no more fluids in her body for her to let go of. Few knew of this fear, she went to far lengths to keep it hidden from everyone she could. Couldn't have everyone knowing she turned into a wuss at the first sigh of a thunder storm.

      One of the very few people who knew that she was so scared of these storms was Kol Mikaelson. It wasn't often that the Ravenheart's were over on storm night but when they were Kol never missed the way Raelyn ran to her parents or Rebekah. This pattern had not changed since she was a little girl and he did not think it would ever change. That night Angelia and Licus were over for dinner at the Mikaelsons. And when the two families went over for dinner it meant they were staying the night. Their conversations simply went on too long for them to only stay for dinner. Kol knew that Raelyn would be without her usual sources of comfort that night and that this storm would be particularly hard on her. Nobody seemed to notice when he grabbed a coat, put on his boots, and snuck out the door. They were all too preoccupied with laughter to notice his absence. The Ravenheart house was not far, but he did have to stop twice to duck out of the horrid rain. By the time he got to the house he was thoroughly soaked. Shutting the Ravenheart's door behind him he quickly threw off his cloak and turned around to observe the sight before him.

      Raelyn was curled up beside their fire, tears dried on her face and her entire body shaking. With each crack of thunder, she shuttered a little and Kol realized suddenly just how afraid Raelyn really was of storms. Before anything else, Kol shuffled over to Licus' chest. There he grabbed a change of clothes and went to another room to change. He came back with wet hair and left his wet clothes near the fire. Licus' clothes were big on him but it was better than being wet. Slowly Kol looked up at Raelyn, now she met his eye. He approached her like one might approach a scared fawn. "Rael-"

      "If you're here to make fun of me please just go now," Raelyn stated curling up more, never did she even consider that Kol might be there to offer her comfort.

      "Aww come on you don't mean that," Kol said dropping down beside her. Cautiously he extended a leg out behind her and reached out both his arms. Slowly they encircled her and drew her in close to his chest. Raelyn did not at all resist, in fact, she leaned into him, not going to refuse the comfort of another person's embrace. Once Raelyn knew that Kol was supporting himself against the nearby wall she twisted in his arms and pressed her face into his chest. Attempting at shutting out the world beyond them. That is when Kol got an idea. 

      With his magic he couldn't make the storm go away by any means, he was nowhere near that powerful, but there was something he could do. Reaching out a hand towards the fire he muttered an incantation. From the fire, a single flame danced, and out into the air. It was then that Raelyn dared to look away from his chest. When she saw the small performance he was putting on she smiled a little. Over the course of some time, Kol shaped the flame into different shapes for her amusement. A flower, a tree, a heart, a buck, and even a lone huntress. It provided her much amusement and distracted her, however momentarily, from the storm. Her thoughts calmed as she listened to his heart beat and watched his little show, only jumping every now and then when a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the house.

      Kol stayed until she fell asleep beside him. Curled up with her head resting on his bicep as though it were the most natural thing in the world. She looked so calm, so innocent, like an angel banished from heaven to his arms. The storm still raged outside and Kol decided that he wanted to stay the night here, just holding Raelyn in his arms. So he didn't go anywhere, he just wrapped his arm tighter around her and tenderly kissed the top of her head.

      That was the first night that the two slept with one another (and most certainly not the last). In the weeks that would come they would slowly develop a pattern. At first Kol would only go to Raelyn when a storm rolled in, which was much more frequently in that month. Then one-night Raelyn showed up in Kol's room and slept there, no reason other than the fact that she wanted to. Then another night Kol's brothers were annoying him so he went to be with Raelyn. Soon they were sleeping together almost every night (even when there seemed to be no reason to), somedays at his house but mostly at Raelyn's where it was much less crowded. The two never talked about their arrangement, not even one word. During the usual daylight hours, they even went on hating one another, acting as though all they felt was anger at the other. They just waited until the night when they could feel each other's embrace, and hold one another until the sun broke the horizon.

⚜︎

       **R** aelyn' sixteenth birthday was quite the event. Much like at her birth the village gathered to feast, dance, and sing songs. Raelyn received many gifts, most from suitors hoping to get her attention. The Mikaelson's each gave her gift. Esther gave her a variety of dried flower petals that were officially meant to make her clothes smell nice but Raelyn knew were for witchcraft. Finn, ever the charmer, gave her another hand-carved bow. It was even more beautiful than the last and made of wood from the most beautiful tree in their woods, the white oak. It was a good thing to, Raelyn had lost his other bow during her first hunt alone. Rebekah gave her a dress that she claimed to have made, but Raelyn knew was the work of Esther. It was a beautiful dress, deep blue in color and soft to the touch. Raelyn had left to change into it and wear it for the rest of the party. It caught more than a few eyes. Mikael gave her... a brush, a hairbrush. It was nice, and Raelyn did need one. It just wasn't the most exciting. Klaus gave her a much dearer gift, a knife with a handle of wolf bone and a sharp blade. He had a devilish smile when he had given it to her and told her slyly 'any guy tries to get at you tonight, stick it between his ribs'. That had made her laugh and she warned him not to try anything because she just might follow through. Elijah gave her a rare gift, a notebook, which in such a time was quite difficult to make. When she told him that she couldn't accept such a thing he had merely kissed her forehead in a friendly way and told her it was nothing and that he hoped she treasured it for years to come. She promised she would always hold it dear. Suitors brought her the most useless of gifts, cooking supplies, jewelry, a lamp, it was purely ridiculous. None of them really knew what she would want, the gave her things a wife would need. She found it ridiculous but Licus and Mikeal laughed together. Thinking that the boys' efforts were fruitless because they had already committed Raelyn to Elijah without either's knowledge. 

      There was one Mikaelson who was missing from the fun.

      Raelyn didn't see Kol for the entire party, not once. Even as she was passed from one suitor to another suitors arms she was unable to catch a glimpse of him. Not once did she spot his mess of brown hair, or his smirk amongst the smiles of others. She didn't even spot a flash of his copper-colored eyes. Doubt started to crawl into her mind. That maybe he didn't like her as she thought he did, then again he had never said anything to say he did like her and she had never said anything either. So she couldn't really get angry. No, she convinced herself. What was going on between them was nothing, they were nothing. Certainly what she was feeling was not what she thought it was. Certainly, she did not think that Kol had _loved_ her? Certainly, she did not think she  _loved_ him, no no she was one day going to marry one of these suitors, that was the end of it. Kol meant nothing.

      She finished the party somewhat disappointed, the only person she had wanted to really see. The only one she had wanted to dance with; hadn't even been there. That night she lay in bed, alone (for the first time in a long time) and cold, and thought of only Kol. Why hadn't be he there? What other thing had come up? Why did he hold her so tenderly at night then not mention her during the day?  _It is simple,_ she told herself with a frown growing on her face,  _he did not feel for her as she thought he did._

      A sudden careful knock on her doorframe grasped her attention. When she looked up Kol was holding a finger to his lips and beckoning her out to him. A small smile spread across Raelyn's face as her feet hit the ground and she went it the door after him. No, he had not abandoned her after all. Usually, she would have been angry at him for playing her like that. Today was her birthday though, birthdays tend to make people forgiving. The two crept to the door and snuck out like two thieves in the night, though the only thing they planned on stealing were hearts. Once outside Kol quickly grasped Raelyn's hand and lead her out into the woods. Laughter escaped Raelyn as they ran over logs and through the trees to who knows where. It was only one she saw the first glimpse of the yellow flowers did she realize where they were going. The field where they had shot the buck, where this whole thing had started. Where all these emotions started, where the two souls first connected.

      Once they burst through the tree line Raelyn saw what Kol had set up. On the smooth part of the valley there was a small fire built into the ground and to one side of it was a blanket and a rolled up fur. It looked wonderful. Raelyn ran past Kol to the blanket and quickly rolled onto it, giggling as she did so. Her laughter was contagious and soon Kol was laying beside her laughing as well. After their laughter died he pulled something out of his pant pocket and wrapped both hands around it. "I made this for you."

      With that he handed the thing to the excited girl. The smooth item felt soft in Raelyn's hand and she relished in the feel of it. Looking at it closely she realized what it was. It was the heart shaped stone she had found. Only now it had strings wrapped around it and had been fashioned into a necklace of sorts. Raelyn loved it. Without thought she threw her arms around Kol and tackled him to the ground. The two rolled off of the blanket and Kol ended up holding himself above Raelyn. Their laughter subsided as their eyes met.

      The air crackled around them, the tension rising quickly. Their lips were so close to touching, if one of them flinched they might accidentally kiss. Both of their hearts pounded like vicious drums. And suddenly they both back away, blush crawling up their cheeks. Kol gestured to the necklace and Raelyn handed it over. He tied it on and after that the two cuddled up and merely stayed there, in front of the fire, for the rest of the night.


End file.
